Night terrors ... still from the 2014 film, The Babadook.
Photograph: Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar

A psychologist has stressed the importance of scary children’s literature, after new research revealed that a third of parents would avoid reading their children a story containing a frightening character.

A survey of 1,003 UK parents by online bookseller The Book People found that 33% would steer clear of books for their children containing frightening characters. Asked about the fictional creations they found scariest as children, a fifth of parents cited the Wicked Witch of the West from L Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, with the Child Catcher from Ian Fleming’s Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang in second place. Third was the Big Bad Wolf, in his grandmother-swallowing Little Red Riding Hood incarnation, fourth the Grand High Witch from Roald Dahl’s The Witches, and fifth Cruella de Vil, from Dodie Smith’s The Hundred and One Dalmatians.

“Fear is a natural response,” said psychologist Emma Kenny. “And when you are reading a scary story to a child, or they’re reading to themselves, the child has got a level of control – they can put it down, or ask you to stop. And the story can raise a discussion, in which they can explore and explain the way they feel about a situation.”

Being frightened by a book, said Kenny, “helps forge resilience”. “The world can be a scary place – children will get into situations where they’re told off by teachers, or fall out with friends. Knowing how to confront fear is a good thing.”

The Book People’s survey also found that while a third of parents avoided books with scary characters, 78% said that baddies helped children “differentiate between good and evil”, 53% that they helped children “learn to cope with difficult situations”, and 48% that they help conquer fears.

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“Children are often being wrapped up in cotton wool,” said Kenny. “Risk and fear are something we need in childhood. We know that people who take risks, in the long term, do better than those who don’t … And how can you feel safe and secure until you know what it’s like to be afraid? Anything that gives you a wide range of emotions in a safe and controlled environment is great.”